The present invention relates to the securement of the drum head to a snare drum.
A snare drum has a drum head which the musician beats. The snare drum may also have a snappy which is equipped with a number of sound wires and is installed in a freely switchable manner on the drum head surface that is on the opposite end of the drum body from the beaten drum head. A snappy is used for producing a drum sound which is bright and clear. The vibrations of the drum head on the beaten surface are transmitted to the sound wires through the vibrations of the drum head on the reverse side.
Each snare drum head is conventionally installed and stretched on the drum trunk or drum body by means of a hoop that is placed around the drum body near the end on which the drum head is installed. The hoop engages a rib around the periphery of the drum head material. The hoop is drawn down the side of the drum body, and this pulls upon the drum head rib and tightens the drum head. The hoop is in turn secured to the drum body by a series of attachment means arrayed around the drum body and attached to the hoop. Those attachment means are typically bolts extending between attachment elements on the drum body and bolt receptacles defined in or nuts at the hoop.
Typically, there are an even number of attachment means or bolts, e.g. ten bolts, disposed uniformly spaced around each drum hoop, and typically the same number of attachment and tightening bolts are used both for the beaten drum head and the opposite drum head. Securement of the drum head with an even number of tightening bolts, which are equally spaced apart and which equally divide the outer periphery of the drum head, also causes at least one pair and usually many or even all of the pairs of the attachment and tightening bolts to be diametrically opposite each other. A line between any pair of opposite bolts passes through the center of the drum head along a diameter. When one such tightening bolt is tightened, as is done for the purpose of tuning that drum head, a tension line is formed along the diameter reaching the opposite tightening bolt through the center of the drum head. Opposite pairs of tightening bolts produce a number of diametrically arranged intersecting tension lines all going through the center of the drum head. Thus 2n tightening bolts can generate up to n tension lines, which is the number of the intersecting diameters.
For a conventional drum with an even number of tightening bolts, the tightening of the bolts in connection with tuning will be carried out in a straight line between two bolts along a diameter. This makes it difficult to achieve a balanced adjustment of the tension of the head surface as a whole. Furthermore, because the crossing point of tension lines is formed at the center of the drum head, this applies a strong tension on this part. During heating of the drum head, it becomes difficult for sound to be produced or the sound becomes strained, thereby producing a "thin" or unrealistic sound.
Since the drum head is in essence divided into a number of pie shaped sections each outlined by diametric lines that pass through the center, each diametric line becomes a "knot" line, making it easier for a special vibration mode to be established, which is liable to be produced in the vibration form of the drum head and produces a lingering tone, which is noise, without producing a basic tone.